Memories of Banksia Studio

"Banksia Studio" was an artists papermaking studio at the home of Charlie Turner at Sisters Beach, North West Tasmania. The studio was a haven for papermakers from around the world. Visitors were surrounded by drying sheets on every window, papermaking stories, superb cooking, good wine and restless investiagtion of the creation of fibres suitable for papermaking and the act of papermaking.

Moving to Sisters Beach from Adelaide I was very fortunate to come across such expertise in this friend and neighbour. Charlie the scientist, chemist, botanist, environmentalist and papermaking artist and was inspirational in my development as a papermaker.

Papermaking at Banksia Studio was about the intrinsic qualities of paper. Charlie had investigated local plants to find the plant closest to the Japanese long fibred Mitsumata. He also discovered that the seeds pods of a local parasitic plant "Snoddy Gobble " were an excellent substitute for neri. We would collect these and freeze them until ready to use.

These qualities were expressed in paper as a medium for expression rather then a carrier for paint, printmaking or other mediums. Paper in its wet form was the basis for sculptural maniplation, shaped, layering, dying, rolling, seperated, recombined.

Charlie died in 1996 but will always live on in my memories and in my papermaking journey.

This series of 3 books is a physical memory of the deep debt I owe to Charlie and a memory of the pulp painting techniques we shared and explored together at Banksia Studio.

It is the papermakers response to nature and plants that generates a desire to create with fibres and to make paper. Approaching the papermaking experience with playful abandon can result in some fascinating creations, once one has an understanding of the limitations and formation properties of different plant fibres.

Pulp painting has become an exciting adventure to me. Somehow it has a real allure : the challenge of working from back to front layers, the combination and contrasts of different fibres, and the fluidity and movement possible with pulp from vat to 2D artwork.

I like to work quickly and really take some risks to discover new things along the way. I learn through all the mistakes, but feel it is important to push the boundaries of what we think is possible to do with pulp and paper.